Assuming the maddening Roman sticks around until whenever the NBA starts up again — no certainty, but a likely assumption — he will have one more chance to validate Bryan Colangelo's faith in him.

With 7-foot centre Jonas Valanciunas — he of the massive upside and gaudy statistics, particularly when facing off against those his age — waiting in the wings, the Raptors will finally have another option in the middle sometime down the line.

If newly installed defensive taskmaster Dwane Casey can't solve the Bargnani riddle and get 2006's top selection to compete with passion and purpose — particularly defensively — Bargnani will be out of chances.